Steam is a digital distribution service owned by Valve. Originally created to distribute its own games, Steam has since expanded to become the de facto standard for digital distribution of PC games, and supports community features, downloadable content and achievements. Starting 2010, Steam now offers Mac games as well.

Question about retail games activated on steam

So im a big Steam user as some already know, but I havent actually ever gotten a retail game and activated it on Steam... until now that is. found some really cheap copies of a few games ive been wanting, but then i was wondering... what happens with the physical copy? Do these games NEED to be activated in order to even install them, or is there some sort of offline mode where you can just use the dvd? I assume not, otherwise multiple people could buy the same copy, but at the same time, if you cant, this completely destroys any chance of lending a game to a friend for example (which was my intention... actually i would just give the physical copies to a friend of mine that doesnt even use steam). So, which is it?

Weird times when you cant actually loan a game you bought to a friend if thats the case... im not bitching about it per se, just making a observation :)

When you put the disk in it will ask you to install and then Steam will pop up a window saying enter your activation key. Once you enter the key and its verified it will start installing the game from the CD or Download it. You can throw the disk away in your closet unless you need to reinstall it.

It depends on the game. Most games solely activate via steam, and once they are activated no one else can use it without access to that steam account. With a few games (e.g. the Football Manager games) you can install it without steam, but you have to have the disk in the CD drive to use it. Not many games do that because you end up with people installing the disk version and then giving their steam code to a friend, or random people on the internet. You're essentially selling 2 copies of the game for the price of one.

It depends on the game. Most games solely activate via steam, and once they are activated no one else can use it without access to that steam account. With a few games (e.g. the Football Manager games) you can install it without steam, but you have to have the disk in the CD drive to use it. Not many games do that because you end up with people installing the disk version and then giving their steam code to a friend, or random people on the internet. You're essentially selling 2 copies of the game for the price of one.

What about Fallout 3? I got a Live key. But I might have used it all ready.